New milking machine

Dude has been milking our goats by hand and took over when I had surgery. We only have two goats but milking every day can take it's toll especially if you are doing other manual  work all day.  Dude has begun to have arthritis that can be very painful.

So, we made the decision to get a milking machine. It only does one goat at a time but even at that it cut our time down in half this morning. 

The goats got a tiny bit startled by the sound of the machine, including the other goats waiting in the wings. It is not loud but rather a hum. (no longer do they listen to Dude cussing at a goat kicking but rather a low hum :-)  )

We washed the girls with warm water/wash cloth and then aloe sanitizer.  The hook-up went well. You only turn it on for a minute or so and turn it off. Then the machine works on it's own. The goats didn't kick or push like they can when we milk them.  All in all we think it was a good investment at a total of $166 (for price plus S&H).  You can see on the jar the name of the company we bought it from is Dansha Farms. They give you a link to a good video on how to operate. We have no affiliation to them. It is just something we find is working well for us.

 See how calm she is !

We recommend this to anyone with just a few goats that are patient to wait their turn.  Habits are good for goats. As you can see, we taught Peppy, the baby, to be leashed up with the mamas to eat and wait to be let out each morning.  She doesn't mind and figures it is all just part of the day.  When it comes her turn next year to be milked it will all just be part of her average day and no training necessary.

Then we had to finish our chores and get everyone out for the day.

After that was done it was time to fold and put away two loads of laundry and make breakfast.

There is a wee bit of time before work for a prayer walk and meditation. Maybe even time to make some salsa crackers. (see our Facebook for the recipe)

Hope you all have a wonderful day.

Peace, health and happiness.